Noel Fielding
Noel Fielding '(b. May 21, 1973) is an English writer, artist, stand-up comedian and actor most noted for his portrayal of Vince Noir in his own show, ''The Mighty Boosh, and for his portrayal of Richmond Avenal in The IT Crowd. Biography Early life Fielding was born on May 21, 1973 in Westminister, London to Diane and Ray Fielding, who were in their late teens when he was born. Fielding was always aware of his parents' eclectic taste in music and openness with drugs. Fielding was educated at Croydon Art College in his youth and went on to attend Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College. Comedy career Fielding began performing stand-up comedy routines during the late 1990s. His quirky and surreal comedy material, as well as his eccentric style of dress, contributed to his raise of fame. He made several appearances on the stand-up show, Gassed. '' He met Mighty Boosh co-star, Julian Barratt while performing a stand-up comedy gig at Hellfire Comedy Club in the Wycombe Swan Theatre. Barratt offered Fielding a place to perform, and the two became close friends. They began performing in various pubs in April 1998, as a double act which they hoped would be "the new Goodies". They then came up with the characters of the fashion-obsessed Vince Noir and the bumbling Howard Moon, two zookeepers. The characters of Noir, played by Fielding, and Moon, played by Barratt, appeared in numerous sketches in Paramount Comedy's ''Unnatural Acts. Here they met various fellow comedians who would later star alongside them in The Mighty Boosh, including future The IT Crowd actors Richard Ayoade (Moss) and Matt Berry (Douglas). The sketches soon developed into shows and the pair, now called The Mighty Boosh, wrote three stage shows: The Mighty Boosh ''(1998), ''Arctic Boosh (1999) and Autoboosh ''(2000), which were taken to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. After the success of ''Autoboosh, the pair went on to write a radio series which was commissioned by the BBC. Broadcast in 2001, the show was later moved to BBC London Live and was eventually given its own pilot episode on television. After the success of the pilot, the show was given its own eight-part series in 2004 on BBC Three. The series was raved by critics and a second six-part series was commissioned the following year. This series moved away from the zoo setting and focused more on Noir, Moon, the shaman Naboo and the talking gorilla Bollo living in a flat in Dalston. In 2006, the Boosh returned to the stage with their fourth show, The Mighty Boosh Live, with a new storyline entitled 'The Ruby of Kukundu'. After two years away from television, a third series was commissioned and attracted approximately one million viewers on its opening night. BBC Three subsequently aired an entire night of constant The Mighty Boosh ''episodes as well as a documentary on the history of the show. Fielding is currently working with Barratt on a film and album based on the show. Television career Outside ''The Mighty Boosh, Fielding has appeared Nathan Barley, The IT Crowd, AD/BC: A Rock Opera, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. Fielding was also featured as a minor role in the film Plunkett & Macleane as a bystander to Robert Carlyle's scuffle in a brothel. Fielding appeared on The Charlotte Church Show as a special guest. Fielding was also noticed by Graham Linehan who asked him to audition for the part of the lonely goth Richmond Avenal in his new series, The IT Crowd. Fielding landed the part and appeared in five episodes between 2006 and 2007. Fielding, however, was not able to portray Richmond again in the third series due to his commitments with The Mighty Boosh. Fielding had appeared in the comedy panel show, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, in February 2007, and filled in as team captain for Bill Bailey in three episodes of Series 21, at Bailey's request. Fielding also achieved a record for the highest team score ever on the show. In 2009, it was announced that Fielding would become the full-time team captain of the show, after Bailey's departure. Fielding was also due to appear in the 2007 fantasy film Stardust, however, he was forced to pull out due to ill-health. Fielding also appeared in Channel 4's Transmission ''alongside Barratt and also presented ''Comic Relief Does Top of the Pops alongside Reggie Yates and Fearne Cotton. He has also appeared as a panellist alongside Russell Brand on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year. Radio career The Mighty Boosh ''started out as a radio sketch show featuring Fielding and Barratt, playing their trademark characters, Vince Noir and Howard Moon. Broadcast in 2001 on BBC London Live, the radio series helped launch the success of its TV series. Fielding has also made appearances on ''The Russell Brand Show on 26 May 2007 and 13 October 2007, and on Team Disgusting's show on Life FM as a co-host for one episode. In November 2007, Fielding starred in Vic Reeves' BBC Radio 2 series, Vic Reeves' House Arrest, where he plays a local vagrant who knocks on Reeves' door on a weekly basis to ask for work. Fielding's character usually carries out seemingly pointless tasks and is paid in small change. Music and art career Fielding has made appearances in several music videos, including Robots In Disguise's "Girl" (alongside Chris Corner), "Turn It Up" and "Tears", Mint Royale's "Blue Song" (alongside Julian Barratt), and Razorlight's "In the Morning". Fielding also occasionally played bass for his then-girlfriend's band Robots in Disguise. Fielding is friends with the members of Razorlight, and involved them in the Mighty Boosh episode "The Priest and the Beast". Fielding also appeared at one of their concerts, dressed as The Hitcher, to introduce the band. Fielding lent his voice to the Midfield General song "Midfielding". Fielding also sometimes acts as a live bass player for Robots In Disguise. Fielding is also known as a DJ and often plays with other members of The Mighty Boosh at The Barfly in London, or with his band collective Team Disgusting, made up of six women and Rev. Lately, he has been DJing with Dave Brown, the actor who plays Bollo in The Mighty Boosh, under the name, The Doctor And The Pencil, who first appeared in the'' Mighty Boosh'' episode "''The Chokes". Fielding held his first art exhibition, ''Psychedelic Dreams of the Jelly Fox at Maison Bertaux, a patisserie in Soho, in 2008. Fielding revealed in a recent Youtube video interview that another exhibition is planned to take place in June 2010, entitled Bryan Ferry vs. The Jelly Fox. Fielding's artwork has also appeared on The Mighty Boosh. Fielding is famous for his surreal and nearly childlike artwork. Personal life Fielding's brother, Michael, is eight years younger than him and also stars alongside him in The Mighty Boosh as Naboo the Shaman. Noel's parents are Diane and Ray Fielding, who both make appearances in The Mighty Boosh. Fielding says that he has no middle name, doesn't follow a religion and was never baptised. He is famous for his quirky and eccentric style of dress, similar to his trademark character Vince Noir, and claims to have worn Johnny Depp's hat and Freddie Mercury's coat in The Mighty Boosh. Fielding suffers from Gilbert's Syndrome, a benign liver condition which gives him a small amount of jaundice if he drinks too much alcohol and also prohibits him from eating chocolate. On 15 August 2009, Noel revealed in an interview with The News of the World that he had been taking drugs such as cocaine, ketamine and MDMA over the past few years, caused by stress due to his rise of fame. He also told the press that he is now clean of drugs. Awards and nominations *'''2010: The Mighty Boosh won Best DVD at the Shockwaves NME Awards 2010. *'2009': The Mighty Boosh won Best TV Show at the Shockwaves NME Awards 2009. *'2009': Dave's 4th Sexiest Stand-Up Comedian. *'2008': 2nd Best Dressed Man of the Year at the GQ Awards. *'2008': Situation Comedy and Comedy Drama Award for The Mighty Boosh Royal Television Awards 2008. *'2008': Best Dressed Shockwaves NME Awards 2008. *'2008': Sexiest Man Shockwaves NME Awards 2008. *'2008': The Mighty Boosh won Best TV Show at the Shockwaves NME Awards 2008. *'2007': The Mighty Boosh won Best TV Show at the Shockwaves NME Awards 2007. *'2003': Time Out comedy award winner for Outstanding Achievement. *'2002': Solo Edinburgh show Voodoo Hedgehog nominated for a Perrier *'2001': The Boosh, first on London Live, then on Radio 4. *'2000': Arctic Boosh won the Barry Award at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. *'1999': Perrier nominee with Julian Barratt as Arctic Boosh *'1998': Herald Angel Award winner. *'1998': Perrier Best Newcomer Winner with Julian Barratt as the double act The Mighty Boosh ''(1998 Stage show). Filmography Behind the scenes *Fielding was unable to play Richmond Avenal after Series Two of ''The IT Crowd as he had other commitments with The Mighty Boosh. External links *Noel Fielding on Wikipedia *Noel Fielding on IMDb *NoelFielding.org Fielding, Noel